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“It is treating the animal as an object not as an individual. If anyone was thinking of having one of these parties, I would tell them not to. I think most people are animal lovers but do not think past their cat or dog – but this is not a normal way to treat a pony.

“We are in the home of pottery, if this is something that children wanted to do they could paint a ceramic pony.”

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The parties see the ponies become a blank canvas for the kids’ designs, from writing their names, or putting handprints on them, to covering them with hearts and stars.

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Fellow protester Angela Frost, aged 51, of Alsager, said: “It is disgusting. I do not know who could come up with such an idea to abuse an innocent animal in this way.

“It is degrading for the ponies to have paint and glitter put on them. How could people think it is acceptable to have this at children’s parties?

“I would like to see this stopped. I know of a lot of children’s parties where they also play with insects. It is unacceptable for these sorts of activities to be at a child’s birthday party.”

But businesses that supply the ponies maintain their animals are not being abused. My Happy Equine is a Cheshire business which supplies ponies and horse paints to party companies across the North West.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, the firm’s founder Helen Preece said all paint and products are made with 100 per cent non-toxic and vegan-friendly ingredients.

The products are primarily water and chalk-based and the glitter is biodegradable and edible.

Talking about the petition, Helen said: “Farmers have done it and it has been going on for years. I think people should put their energy into creating a stir into real animal cruelty.